FILIPINO Grandmasters Mark Paragua and Darwin Laylo and International Master Enrico Sevillano hurdled their fifth and final round opponents to finish in a tie for first with American International Masters Andranik Matikozyan and Timothy Taylor in the just-ended 6th annual Western Pacific Open Chess Championships held March 28 to 30 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
The five players tallied identical 4.0 points apiece after five games of play, however, Sevillano, a former mainstay of the Southwestern University chess team in Cebu City, took home the championship trophy after the tie break was applied.
In the fifth and final round, Sevillano, a protégé of NM Matias “Bombi” Aznar, trounced FM Gregg Small; Paragua waylaid Michael Anthony Yee; Laylo crushed Pedram Atoufi while Matikozyan split the point with fellow IM Taylor. /Correspondent MARLON BERNARDINO
